1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a filter arrangement disposed in a fuel tank and connected to a fuel pump in a fuel supply system of an automotive vehicle, and more particularly to such a filter arrangement provided with a function to prevent vapor lock caused by fuel vapor staying in the filter arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of filter arrangements for a fuel tank have been proposed and put into practical use. One of these includes a fuel sucking section which is disposed within a fuel tank and connected through a connecting pipe section with a fuel pump disposed in the fuel tank. The fuel sucking section is provided with a netting member which serves as a filter by which fuel to be sucked to the fuel pump is filtered. However, when an automotive vehicle temporarily stops after cruising so that fuel temperature is high, fuel vapor is generated around the fuel pump and unavoidably fed to the fuel sucking section where it remains in the upper part of a space within the fuel sucking section. Thus the aforementioned fuel vapor is sucked into the fuel pump upon restart of the fuel pump, thereby causing vapor lock.